Interesting study. 'tis a shame that I usually play at night & can't really take advantage of this.

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Same here. I usually play in the afternoon after work. Taking that much caffeine around 8pm would put in really bad shape in terms of getting to sleep. Heck...taking that much caffeine at any point in the day would put me in bad shape..period. Then again, now I can have that Mountain Dew right after tennis or working out.

This is good news, as coffee is part of my pre- and post-game ritual (except, like last night, when I get home at bed time). It's also part of my off-day rituals, morning rituals, holiday rituals, work rituals, and several other rituals I cannot mention.

"Caffeine normally impairs glucose metabolism during rest in nonathletes, but the opposite appeared to be true after exercise in endurance-trained athletes, they said online in the Journal of Applied Physiology."

So my question is at what point does one consider himself an athlete moreso and endurance-trained athlete? I feel comfortable putting myself in that category but that statement just reaffirms that there's a significant physiological difference between athletes and non-athletes. But at what point does your body become the body of an endurance-trained athlete so that it can make use of the caffeine in recovery?

Also, the article stated that caffeine was administered at a dosage of 8mg per kg of bodyweight. For me, that's nearly 640mg of caffeine which is enough to give me a serious caffeine headache. I'm highly caffeine sensitive.

"Caffeine normally impairs glucose metabolism during rest in nonathletes, but the opposite appeared to be true after exercise in endurance-trained athletes, they said online in the Journal of Applied Physiology."

So my question is at what point does one consider himself an athlete moreso and endurance-trained athlete? I feel comfortable putting myself in that category but that statement just reaffirms that there's a significant physiological difference between athletes and non-athletes. But at what point does your body become the body of an endurance-trained athlete so that it can make use of the caffeine in recovery?

Also, the article stated that caffeine was administered at a dosage of 8mg per kg of bodyweight. For me, that's nearly 640mg of caffeine which is enough to give me a serious caffeine headache. I'm highly caffeine sensitive.

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The study was done on endurance trained athletes, so the conclusion can only be applied to them if one wants to be a rigorous scientist. Can you tease out of these findings some benefit for the weekend warrior, and at lower caffeine doses? My guess is the benefit is going to be slight, principally because endurance trained athletes have much better glucose metabolism than your average Joe and the caffeine levels in the study were a bit high. BUT, I think it's worth a try for most of you guys, as long as you tolerate caffeine and don't take it late in the day. The worst that is likely to happen is NOTHING. Don't you hate that?

what this tells me is that nutrition or "carb-fuel" needed after exercise is more beneficial than ever, i was under the inpression that eating after playing tennis was hurting me,weight loss wise, but it seems that eating after exercise is crucial to be able to get back out there again the next day fully charged

Here's an interesting question for you: Considering caffeine stays in the body for several hours, would caffeine consumed pre-exercise still have this similar effect post-exercise? Or is this benefit only seen when caffeine is initially absorbed by the body?

what this tells me is that nutrition or "carb-fuel" needed after exercise is more beneficial than ever, i was under the inpression that eating after playing tennis was hurting me,weight loss wise, but it seems that eating after exercise is crucial to be able to get back out there again the next day fully charged

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Yep...it's definitely important. My body like just about everyone's is most readily open to taking in nutrients to repair and recovery from the damage done to it from strenuous exercise right after training. Also, I think you might experience a bit of a weight loss backlash by not eating within a certain period of time after playing tennis. When you do eat, your body sees the incoming fuel and takes what it needs to rebuild but because it's already revving down it will store the excess as a measure to avoid starvation i.e. fat.

A typical post-tennis/gym meal for me would be something like a grilled chicken breast or two, 6 oz of mix vegetables and half a baked sweet potato. If I have ice cream in the house, I'll have a couple of teaspoons for dessert just so I don't go craving. But the caffeine thing intrigues me. I may try 300mg with my post-match anti-inflammatories and see where it goes.

Here's an interesting question for you: Considering caffeine stays in the body for several hours, would caffeine consumed pre-exercise still have this similar effect post-exercise? Or is this benefit only seen when caffeine is initially absorbed by the body?

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Caffeine has a glycogen sparing effect on trained endurance athletes, but the effect is less on average folks, and it varies widely even among top endurance athletes. Some of the top guys take NO CAFFEINE, and they win. Since caffeine is a fairly safe substance, I'd say give it a try for an unimportant practice match.

Caffeine has a glycogen sparing effect on trained endurance athletes, but the effect is less on average folks, and it varies widely even among top endurance athletes. Some of the top guys take NO CAFFEINE, and they win. Since caffeine is a fairly safe substance, I'd say give it a try for an unimportant practice match.

-Robert

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I consume caffeine regularly *not daily*, and it's usually before I plan to play tennis for hours at a time.

I'm quite sure I'm a trained athlete, though not necessarily an endurance athlete since I don't consider tennis to be an endurance sport, even if I play for 3-5 hours regularly.

Here's my questioning of the research, possible for further study:
1) Would the same effects appear with caffeine consumption for time(30) rather than time(60)? How about immediately after exercise?
2) Would caffeine consumed prior to the workout have any effects on recovery since we know that it can already performance? What about caffeine consumed during a workout/exercise?

Endurance athletes consume caffeine during their workouts and races because it spares precious glycogen, so in a long match, I would expect caffeine, if tolerated, would help to maintain energy levels. I drink coffee all day, so I've probably become less able to benefit. The best result is after a few days OFF the caffeine.

I can't answer question #1, except to the extent the answer is inferred from what I said in my earlier post.

For yourself, simply try three or four different approaches and see if any of them work. Everyone is different when it comes to caffeine.